Street and School Pastors

Street Pastors was pioneered in London in January 2003 by Rev Les Isaac, Director of the Ascension Trust. It was started as a Church response to urban problems, encouraging and enabling Christians to engage with people on the streets to care, listen and dialogue. It has seen some remarkable results, including drops in crime in areas where teams have been working.

The Street Pastors initiative was launched in Bexleyheath in December 2006. Members of churches from across Bexley, including a number from BCLC, go out onto the streets of Bexleyheath every Friday night from 9pm-1.30am. Street Pastors also patrol one Saturday a month. They undertake a wide variety of tasks, from seeing people home safely to talking to the downhearted, to calming fractious people and situations. Since its launch, Street Pastors in Bexleyheath has been a blessing to the people on the streets, to the police and to the Street Pastors themselves.

Every time Street Pastors patrol, they are supported by Prayer Pastors. In Bexley, there are two Prayer Pastors back at "base" praying for the patrol as they go out. Prayer Pastors are an essential and intergral part of the Street Pastor ministry - if there isn't two people available to pray, the Street Pastors will not patrol that night.

In 2011, School Pastors was launched in Bexleyheath. School pastors do a similar job to street pastors, except instead of patroling late at night, they patrol in the afternoons around the schools - currently Bexleyheath Academy - ensuring that the children get home safetly and providing any help that is needed.